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Functions as permease involved in the transport of the cationic amino acids (arginine, lysine and ornithine); the affinity for its substrates differs between isoforms created by alternative splicing. Isoform 1 functions as permease that mediates the transport of the cationic amino acids (arginine, lysine and ornithine), and it has much higher affinity for arginine than isoform 2. Isoform 2 functions as low-affinity, high capacity permease involved in the transport of the cationic amino acids (arginine, lysine and ornithine) (PubMed:9174363). May play a role in classical or alternative activation of macrophages via its role in arginine transport.

The protein encoded by this gene is a cationic amino acid transporter and a member of the APC (amino acid-polyamine-organocation) family of transporters. The encoded membrane protein is responsible for the cellular uptake of arginine, lysine and ornithine. Three transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2011]